STRAWBERRYTASTIC BANNER BY PURPLE_PRINCESS143---->>>> I LOVE ITT :D

How much did I actually love my stepdad? The answer was obvious and I'd love to rant about my step-daddy issues with the little chipmunk, but I didn't want to put my brother Tyler in any danger. I knew if I started giving away some information, he'd eventually grasp onto it and end up bringing down my entire life and anyone in it.

So when Alvin the impatient chipmunk repeated his question, I gave him a blank stare.

"What kind of question is that." I deadpanned.

He stared at me with burning impatience as he barely was able to wait for my next words.

"Of course I love him!" I gushed out, throwing my hands up for the extra theatricals.

I had to protect Tyler.

"You're lying." Alvin spat.

I knew the jazz-hands had pushed it.

"I know how much you hate that man." Alvin continued, trying to peer into my soul in search of anything that would give away my act, but it was far too easy to fool the crow-eyed furry creature.

I just looked at him in confusion, forcing tears to surface up to my eyes. "No. I love my step-father. In fact, I can't wait until he kicks down this door and puts you away for a long time, because you're a bad man." I seethed at him, letting a tear roll down my cheek at the end of it.

"Stop lying bitch!" He suddenly growled, pushing his chair back and standing up with a red face.

I thought I was doing amazing! Now I knew how Leo must have felt all those years when he never won an Oscar for his phenomenal performances. If he were here now, I'm sure he'd make a second Inception just for me to star in it next to him...

I opened my mouth to tell the chipmunk off, but quickly shut it as I both felt and saw the anger rolling off of him in waves.

"No one can love a man like that. He's a selfish coward." He bit out.

"What did he even do?" I asked quietly, trying to look shocked that he would speak those words of accuracy and honesty about my step-father.

He stayed silent for a while, then took his seat again and stared at me with those dark and eerie eyes.

"He ruined my life." Was all he said.

Poor little chipmunk.

"But what do I have to do in all of this?" I asked, nearing my patience.

"You my dear are the secret weapon. You're what I'm going to use to tear your family apart just like he did with mine, except I'm gonna make it more painful and tragic, so he can really feel the pain that I felt tenfold. So he can get what he deserves." He had a look of insanity in his eyes by the time he finished.

He was going to hurt my family? Just because my mother's boyfriend screwed him over? It seemed incredulous.

"But we're not even a proper family!" I argued. There was no point in defending this man now when it clearly wasn't going to save my brother or myself.

"Yes Skylar, I know. But your mom you see, is the only thing important to him. I know that if I take away her kids, she will offer up your step-father like that." He snapped his fingers and had a frantic look in his eyes.

I glared back at him. "You know what my mom would say if you told her you had her two kids locked up?" I asked him, leaning over the table now. "'Good riddance.'"

"So tell me, Alvin, if you want my stepdad so bad, why didn't you kidnap him instead in the first place?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

Alvin glared back in annoyance and opened his mouth but I beat him to it.

"Because you can only kidnap a defenseless little high-school girl." I gave him a smug look and sat back, crossing my arms.

His fists slammed into the table in pure rage as he stood up abruptly for the second time. I tried not to laugh as I saw the small man shake with so much rage and anger. "You don't talk to me like that!" He barked. "Picking up your step-dad would be too easy of a victory." He stated in a strangely calm tone. "But taking you and your brother will certainly upset your mother."

If only he knew the truth about that... If only he'd shut his arrogant little mouth and actually listen to me...

"Watching your step-father's face as I make him watch your mother's reaction to me torturing you and your brother, and then finally her, sounds like the sweetest form of revenge I could think of." He grinned at me in an unsettling manner.

His words made my blood run cold. I felt my hand tighten around the knife in my hand over my half-eaten pancake and had to remind myself to breathe.

"So what are you gonna do? Kill me?" I scoffed and glared at the man. "I don't care what you do to me but you will not touch my brother. He has nothing to do with any of this, plus I was my mother's favorite, not him." I lied, trying to stay cool.

"What's going to happen if I do it anyways?" He asked me smugly.

"What's going to happen is that I'm going to rip off those tiny balls of yours and shove them so far down that scrawny-ass neck until you're squealing around like a little pig." I spoke in an even tone, not wavering on the pure hatred and lethal edge emitting from my eyes and words.

He stared back at me with a hint of shock at the sudden drastic shift in my tone.

I did learn one positive thing from my stepdad and his experience in the navy, and that was how to threaten some bitches. I was usually on the receiving end of his threats, but what better way to learn than from first-hand experience, right?

He suddenly started clapping. "Wow, Randy really must have really taught you a thing or two about the navy."

I glared back at him trying to discredit me and opened my mouth to spit more vile things at the clinically insane acorn-head but was cut off, much to my dismay.

"Now listen up brat. There is nothing you can do here, so drop the little tough act and keep that mouth shut. Truth is, I will eventually have your brother here and you will be able to do nothing but sit back and watch my plan unfold." He grilled, before getting up and storming out.

I bit my tongue from yelling out a string of curse words at him and angrily stuffed a bite of the pancake in my mouth instead.

He was right. I had never felt so helpless in my life before. They were going to throw my brother into this whole mess and I could not bear to see that happen. I would fight for him till my legs gave out. Why couldn't they just do whatever they had planned to me? Why him? He never deserved this, he had been the one who saved my life, and now it was time I returned the favor, and I'd stop at nothing to ensure his safety.

No matter how sweet my kidnapper was, I knew what I had to do now. He had done what he had to do for the ones he loved, so why couldn't I?

Now I had my head set straight and my thoughts clear. Now I knew how integral it was for me to get myself out of this situation in time to warn and save my brother from getting hurt. No more waiting. Nothing could distract me or get in the way now.

LANDON'S POV

I ran a hand down my face, slumping down onto the couch.

It had been almost a week since Sky's disappearance and people were already starting to give up on her.

It seemed like I was the only one still looking, alongside Tyler. It made everything easier having him by me and actively looking just as hard, probably even harder.

I had just come back from the police station, a place I had been visiting everyday since the incident to get updates on the investigation. It was hard though going in everyday and walking out five minutes later with no answers or updates.

That bastard had done a good job of covering up his tracks. Faltering with the security cameras in the mall, as well as the traffic cameras, made it nearly impossible to pick up on any trail.

It was a depressing time, especially seeing as Jess had flown out of the country with her parents, not having the heart to stay here and move on. She needed new surroundings to help, and had made me promise her to call as soon as they'd find something on Skylar's location. I wish it was as easy for me too to run away from reality instead of facing the cold truth. But each time my thoughts started heading down this dark path, I'd instantly remember that had our spots been reversed, Skylar would be doing the exact same thing in my position. We had each other's backs since we were babies, and this tragically twisted event wasn't big enough to alter that bond. I would stop at nothing to get her back, it was a promise I had made both to her and myself.

"Landon sweetheart, you should come have something to eat please."

I looked up at the doorway to see my mom standing there with a worried expression.

"I'm not hungry." I mumbled, using the same excuse I had for days. I hadn't been eating much because of everything that had happened, despite my mother's strongly growing concern.

The stress, anxiety, and all the other emotions combined were eating away at me. But I knew that there was only one solution to it, and that was finding Skylar.

My mother gave me a defeated look from the door and I looked away, not being able to watch her hurt expression. I was thankful enough that she at least understood and never pestered me.

But this time she walked over to me, causing me to look up in surprise. This was usually the part where she'd sigh, go back downstairs and come back with a plate for me which I'd pick at for a bit, and then abandon.

"Landon, I know this has been hard on you, and I know the chances of finding her are very slim right now." She started.

I opened my mouth ready to fire off, just like I had been to literally everyone else who had tried to come see me and tell me the same thing. To just give up and let the police take care of it.

"But with the attitude and determination that you have, I know you'll find her." She promised me with a small smile, making me relax and feel a bit of warmth inside my chest for the first time in days. "But you need to take care of yourself love, Skylar wouldn't want this."

I nodded slowly. She was right. Skylar would be furious if she found out that I hadn't been taking care of myself, letting my body deteriorate and wallow in its own pain.

"Wherever she is, I hope she's safe." I sighed.

"That girl is strong, even I know that. I'm sure she's doing just fine." My mother assured, rubbing my back and getting up now.

"You should come downstairs and have dinner with your father and I tonight." She smiled. "We miss you."

I managed a small smile back. "I'll be down in a bit." I promised.

She gave me a bright smile with her eyes gleaming, then turned and left.

I felt bad for my parents, it probably sucked for them having to see me like this. But I was grateful for their unwavering support, and the fact that not once did they discourage my strong efforts at finding her.

I decided sitting down and having dinner would be nice, it would feel good to and as much as I felt guilty about having a nice meal when Skylar could be starving to death for all I knew, I knew for sure that she wouldn't wish the same for me.

I should appreciate and accept my family's support, as well as what Skylar would have wanted for me right now. Plus, I couldn't storm in to save her if I could barely stand without feeling dizzy and weak.

I stood to my feet and was about to go freshen up when my phone started ringing.

Walking over to it and checking the screen, I furrowed my brows in confusion. It was a blocked caller ID. I accepted the call and slowly lifted it up to my ear.

"Hello?" I answered.

"Is this Landon?" A guy's voice spoke lowly.

"Yeah, who's asking?" I raised my tone suspiciously.

"Listen, is your line safe?" The mystery caller asked.

"I don't think so. Why?" I asked uncertainly.

"Go outside to your nearest pay phone and call her cell." The line went dead before I could reply.

I stared at my phone in disbelief, before darting out the door.

"Landon where are you going?" My mother called out.

"I'll be back in a few minutes!" I yelled before running to my car and jumping in, my heart pounding in my chest. I drove to the nearest pay phone and pulled over, hopping out.

This regarded Skylar. I didn't know who that guy was or how he'd gotten my number, but I knew that he had to have been talking about Skylar's cellphone.

I stepped into the booth and wasted no time in dialing her number by memory.

I waited eagerly for someone to pick up.

SKY'S POV

I slumped down in frustration and let the welcoming couch engulf me. Alvin had thankfully left the scene, but had left me trying to piece together his stupid plan and his stupid motives, and how I'd come up with a plan to win.

I had thought over escaping and running back home, seeing as the door was left unlocked and Nathan and Max were nowhere to be seen. But that would only get me so far until either Alvin swooped in to pick me up again, or I went to the cops and shut down everything on the spot out of nowhere. But the only issue with that last option was that Nathan would surely be spending quite some time locked up.

It would be hard to pull the trigger on that one, and I was pretty sure that I didn't have it in me to. Not because of some confusing new emotions, or because of his cologne. But because Dustin's face would flash in my mind and I knew I couldn't take away that kid's entire happiness by doing that. Who would support him? Max was busy in college and most likely in debt, unless Nathan was paying for that too, which he probably was.

So basically if I pulled the trigger to save my ass and my brother's, I'd be doing it at the cost of three other lives.

I could always pull off a martyrdom and save everyone else, except this entire scheme was because of some beef between my stepdad and an angered chipmunk and there was no way in hell I'd sacrifice myself over it. I had to act when the time was right I realized, as running away right now wouldn't do much. I mean, I doubted I'd make it very far before either Nathan or Alvin came to pick me up in a car.

I had been thinking over my possibilities quite a bit when a voice interrupted my silence.

"What did I miss?" I looked up to see Nathan walking towards me with Max in tow.

"Nothing, just Alvin trying to ruin my life." I shrugged casually.

"What happened?" Nathan asked, leaning against the wall.

"He's kidnapping my brother." I bit out. "He told me all about his plot to destroy my family."

"Yeah he told me his plan too just last night on our way here." He stuffed his hands in his pockets casually.

"You knew all along!?" I exclaimed in anger, standing up now. "You could have told me!"

"I believe you were a bit busy tearing my shirts apart and having a mental breakdown." Nathan shrugged.

"Well you deserved that." I retorted, glaring at him. "So what, you're gonna go pick up my brother now?" I seethed, feeling my fists shake in anger now.

"I still can't believe you kidnapped her." Max blurted out.

I swung my head in his direction. He must've gotten his answers from Nathan when they were out on the balcony.

"Max, bad timing." Nathan sighed.

"I mean, how could you be so calm about all this?" Max turned to me now.

"Do I look calm?" I threatened, feeling my body resonating off waves of anger. He really was pushing it.

Max's eyes widened in surprise, before he shut his mouth and wordlessly left the room.

Smart boy.

Nathan now took a small step towards me. "He tried to make me do the job but I refused."

"Why?" I asked.

"Because I knew you'd never forgive me for it." He replied instantly without thinking.

"Thanks." I said after a while. He was right, I'd never forgive him. I mean, you could just look at my current state and instantly tell.

"So if you're not kidnapping him, who is?" I asked with a raised brow.

"Some new guy that Alvin hired." Nathan shrugged off.

"Well let's hope he's not a huge buff kid, otherwise I'm pretty sure my brother can take him." I said proudly.

He was the star quarterback after all and he had his fights from time to time, which he always won, might I add.

"Sky, Ryland's not going to stop until he gets your brother, and even if he may be able to take out some guys, he can't escape it. When that guy wants something, he gets it delivered to him on a gold plate." Nathan said with an apologetic expression.

Though the chipmunk was silly, with the way Nathan was living and the amount of designer things I had bought on my shopping trip, it was safe to say that the chipmunk was also loaded. He was also smart enough to hire lots of efficient rats working for him.

I sighed. "I know Nathan. But this is ridiculous. I already accepted my fate, and you're lucky I don't take advantage of your trust. But I can't sit here silently like a pawn while I have to watch my brother's life get destroyed too." I said, my voice breaking at the end.

Nathan's eyes softened instantly and he looked tortured.

"Right. Well I'm starving." Nathan dismissed, getting up and making his way over to the table where his now cold pancakes were.

I opened my mouth with frustration and anger bubbling to the surface, but lucky for Nathan, Max chose that exact moment to walk in.

"When are we leaving?" Max asked.

"Leaving where?" I asked confused.

Was it another shopping trip?

"You didn't tell her?" Max asked, turning to face Nathan now.

He looked at me with an expression of guilt which I matched with a fiery look back, causing him to look away and turn to face his brother. "No Max, I didn't tell her we're getting a Christmas tree. Plus, she wouldn't want to go anyways."

How dare he assume...

I scoffed. "Actually, I'd love to go. If you're bringing my brother into this whole fiesta then we might as well deck these fucking halls before he gets here." I said with a dangerous glint in my eyes directed at Nathan.

"Wait, you're actually kidnapping her brother!?" Max exclaimed.

"No!" Nathan snapped. "Well not me myself." He explained after, regaining his composure. "If it were up to me, you know I wouldn't do this." Nathan said, looking to me now with an almost pleading look in his eyes.

"Well you have the most influence over Alvin out of the both of us, so I'm sure you could pull something." I spoke in a leveled tone.

Nathan let out a sigh of frustration. "Skylar, you know I have my hands tied."

"No. I don't know that." I gave him a heated look which he matched, his eyes staying guarded.

"How about we all get some pumpkin-spice lattes from Starbs yeah?" Max suddenly interjected.

"That sounds like a magical time." I answered dryly before Nathan could, my heated gaze staying locked onto his.

Max suddenly looked regretful as he glanced between us, while I caught a glimpse of surprise on Nathan's face which he was quick to recover from.

"Alright, let's get going." Nathan stated before walking off.

"Hey, it may not be what you wanted, but we'll make the best of it." Max spoke softly.

I looked up to see him giving me a soft smile. The cold look on my face relaxed slightly, before dropping completely as I gave him back a small smile.

He pulled me into a hug then, whispering in my ear. "I'm sorry."

I held onto him tight for a second, before letting go and stepping back.

"Thanks." I said softly, appreciating his empathy.

He gave my shoulder a small squeeze, before turning around to get ready.

I saw Nathan standing there, leaning against the wall with an unreadable expression.

He held my gaze for a second, before turning and shouldering past his brother down to his room.

Looks like the princess was PMSing.

I couldn't think of a reason for his sudden change in mood, so I simply shrugged it off and went to find some warm clothes.

Except I didn't have any. Nor had I bought any on my spontaneous shopping trip.

Did I even have closed shoes?

"I can't feel my toes." I complained an hour later, hugging myself tighter.

"Would you stop complaining? Nobody forced you to come here." Nathan grumbled.

He had given up trying to play nice with me, my sour mood finally getting to him.

"Well I'm sorry, but I didn't know I was going to be kidnapped so I didn't bring a coat, or gloves, or snow boots." I shrugged innocently.

I glared at the three brothers stood to the side, not looking the slightest bit cold with their thick coats, scarves, ear muffs, toques, snow boots, and the list went on... while I was stood there in thin leggings and a light windbreaker which was doing little to nothing to guard me from the negative ten degrees weather out. Oh, and I was wearing flip flops.

The least Nathan could have done was thrown an extra hoodie my way, except he had been choosing to ignore me, and my pride being so big, I hadn't asked him for anything.

I could see Max pitying me from the corner of my eye, but was pretty certain that Nathan had told him not to speak to me, as he had clearly been avoiding me.

"You know your Grinch vibes will do nothing but make you freeze more." Nathan pointed out.

"Jerk." I said, holding back on a vicious string of curses since Dustin was staring up at us with an adorably confused expression.

"Dotard." Nathan retorted.

I gasped. That was it.

"You know, I thought this would be a fun trip." I said, my voice slightly rising. "But no. I've been standing here in this damn line for twenty minutes, shivering in nothing but a hoodie and spandex, most likely suffering from frostbite, and you couldn't do the least by lending me even a pashmina before leaving?" I noticed I had gained the attention of others around us, but couldn't care less considering I was freezing my arse off.

Nathan shot me a glare, lowering his voice quiet significantly to the point where only I could hear. "Like I said, nobody asked you to come. If I had known you'd stand here complaining and talking my ear off, I would've locked you up at home."

"You should have, at least then I wouldn't have to deal with you!" I yelled, my temper being quick to rise.

"You think I enjoy dealing with you?" He feigned shock. "I would rather stick my head in this snow for twelve days than deal with you."

"I'd prefer that too, at least the cold would deflate that huge egotistical head of yours." I said with an evil smirk.

He shot me a glare, which I returned.

"You're the worst person to kidnap." He spat, causing my eyes to grow wide.

He gave me a smug look as I gaped at him.

Oh no he didn't.

I was about to finally let out those string of curse words I had stored in the back of my head in a box just for him, but Max cut me off.

"Alright that's enough, both of you in the car." Max spoke in a tone of finality.

I opened my mouth to protest the same time Nathan did, but again Max cut us off.

"Now!" He yelled.

I looked around to see many lingerings eyes on us, then looked down to see an embarrassed looking Dustin, and that was enough to defrost my anger and shut my mouth.

We both hung our heads down as Max lead us to the car.

"This is stupid." Nathan grumbled as he climbed inside after me.

"Your face is stupid." I said back.

"I wasn't talking to you." Nathan snapped.

"Alright, sit tight you two. Dustin and I will be back with the tree in about an hour." Max said, giving us both a look, before slamming the door and walking away.

I instantly grabbed the handle of my door and pulled as did Nathan, but to no avail.

I pulled up the lock and tried again, but it wouldn't budge.

"He put the child-lock on." Nathan said shaking his head in disbelief.

"This is your fault." I grumbled, crossing my arms and sitting back.

I actually didn't mind too much though, considering the car was significantly warmer than outside. At least this way I wouldn't die of hypothermia.

"Did I say you could talk?" Nathan growled.

And that was what made me go back on my word and realize that I'd rather be standing outside in the freezing cold for an hour than to be sitting in here with this jerk.

"Just because you're my kidnapper doesn't mean you can start acting like I'm your personal bitch." I rolled my eyes.

"I'd never hire you to be my personal bitch." He gave me a hard look.

"I'd never even apply to be anyone's personal bitch!" I shot back.

"Are you sure about that? Because you sure-" he started.

"Look. Instead of making each other's lives a living hell, why don't we both just shut up. I won't talk to you if you don't talk to me." I offered, trying very hard to hold my calm now.

"I don't want to talk to you." He crossed his arms, reminding me of a four year old.

"Do we have a deal or not?" I asked, ignoring his childishness.

"I don't make deals with the devil." He grumbled.

I rolled my eyes and turned to look out my window.

After what felt like a decade, but was probably a minute, I found myself singing out the lyrics to the song which was currently playing in my head.

"You know you love me. I know you care." I mumbled, before biting my lip closed. The grinch sitting next to me would probably bite me at this point.

"Just shout whenever, and I'll be there." Nathan sang back, shocking the living daylights out of me. Plus, his voice was surprisingly good.

"You are my love, you are my heart." I sang louder this time.

"And we will never-ever-ever be a part." He finished.

I turned my head to look at him just as he did the same, both of our eyes wide.

"This never happened." Nathan quickly said.

I grinned evilly.

I smell a bribe coming up...

"Why should I listen to you?" I crossed my arms with a smug look.

He groaned. "What do you want?" He asked, getting straight to the point.

"An apology." I said with a smirk.

He gave me a long, cold glare, before sighing. "Fine."

I contained the grin about to break out and nodded instead.

"I'm sorry." He said curtly.

"That's nice." I smiled a plastic smile. "But I'd prefer it if you actually meant it and said it without sounding like you wanted to kill me."

He groaned. "I'm sorry." He said in a lighter tone.

I shook my head. "No no no, say 'I'm sorry for being such a douche-bag, please forgive me Skylar'." I smirked.

"You're pushing it." He growled.

"Say it." I said.

"I already did!" He exclaimed.

"No, say what I want you to say." I gave him a pointed look.

"I already said I'm sorry, so let's put this behind us and not tell anyone about it okay?" He said, straining his voice to stay calm.

"Not until I forgive you." I said, unfazed.

He glared at me, then it turned into a dangerous smirk.

I pressed my back against the door as he slowly unbuckled his seat-belt.

"What are you doing?" I asked nervously, my eyes wide.

"I'm going to make you forgive me." He smirked.

Before I could ask, he suddenly launched himself on top of me, pulling a lever to make the seat fold backwards within a second and bringing both our bodies with it.

I screamed and started laughing uncontrollably as his hands came down on my sides and he tickled me mercilessly.

"S-stop it!" I cried out, tears streaming down my face now.

"Not until you forgive me." Nathan smirked evilly.

"Okay! Okay fine I forgive you!" I screamed, squirming under him.

His hands froze and I breathed out in relief.

I looked up to see him staring at something through the back window, his rigid posture hovering over me.

"Nathan?" I called out, trying to sit up so I could see what it was.

"Don't move." He whispered, lowering himself down so he was now flush against my body.

The serious look in his eyes was enough to distract me from his burning hot proximity.

"What is it?" I whispered, watching him as he slowly reached down to grab something.

"I need you to take this, and don't move. Stay here." He said, staring at me with no sign of humor.

I looked down confused and my eyes widened as I saw what he was pressing into my hand.

"No!" I yelled, trying to get away from that deadly weapon.

"Sh, Skylar, listen to me." He said softly, placing a hand softly on my face.

"I-is it empty like the one you had the day you kidnapped me?" I asked in a whisper.

"I'm afraid not princess. You don't have to use it, just keep it with you." He instructed.

I found myself nodding as I realized not to question the massive wave of authority his body was giving off, his eyes looking dead-serious.

Nathan glanced out the window again. "Outside there's about six men with guns surrounding the car. I'm just gonna step out and take care of this. You stay here and don't move, and if anyone tries to hurt you, just point it." He whispered.

"But what if you-" I started to protest but he smoothly cut me off.

"Don't worry about me princess. I promise I'll be right back, I just need you to stay calm for me. Can you?" He asked softly.

I slowly nodded, my hands shaking.

He looked down and noticed my trembling hands, taking them in his own and bringing them up to his face to place soft kisses, leaving a trail of fire where his lips connected.

"You can do this, I won't let them hurt you. I promise." He said, his eyes shining with sincerity.

I gulped, swallowing my fear and putting on a brave face. There was no other way and we didn't seem to have much time.

"I'll be back." He said, slightly sounding like the terminator.

"Go get 'em tiger." I winked, causing him to smirk before he swiftly rolled off of me and climbed to the front seat, unlocking his door manually and swinging it open.

He shut it behind him and disappeared from my sight in a flash.

I lay still for a while in the tense silence, trying to calm my shallow breathing and staring up at the ceiling of the car.

After a while, the anxiety mixed with curiosity got to me so I flipped over to my stomach and used my arms to push myself up, not enough for them to spot me but enough for me to see what was happening.

Instead of seeing a blood bath like I was expecting, I saw Nathan casually talking to a girl with short, jet-black hair. She had bangs, a nice figure which stood out in the tight black outfit she wore, and black leather boots to complete the look. This girl was the definition of badass.

I wonder what Nathan had done to piss her off...

Since her back was facing me, I could his Nathan's face clearly and he seemed to be completely in control.

I looked around the car to see Nathan was right. There were six men in total, all surrounding the car. They each had a machine gun in their arms and their gazes were all locked firmly on Nathan's every move.

The place where we had parked our car was deserted, since it was a ten minute walk away from where the tree-picking area was, so there was no one around to call the police.

My eyes landed on Nathan again, watching as the conversation between him and the girl became heated.

It looked like the girl was winning, and had she not been on the enemy's side, whoever the enemy was, I'd have given her props.

I gasped as Nathan suddenly whipped out his gun from his waistband and aimed it at the girl. The six armed men responded without hesitation and next thing I knew it, Nathan had six machine guns aimed directly at his head.

I stared in shock as the armed men slowly came closer until they were all circling Nathan, fingers poised on their triggers.

I was taken aback by how Nathan seemed so calm and collected. He even managed to flicker his eyes to mine for a split second to give me a cocky smirk while the girl spoke to her men.

I shook my head in disbelief and would be lying if I said I wasn't impressed.

The girl barked some orders then, causing all the men to instantly drop their guns and take ten steps back, hands raised and everything.

Nathan smirked down at the girl in victory, then slowly began to back away, coming closer to the car.

I breathed a sigh of relief.

Just as he turned around to open the door, the men moved at lightning speed and were surrounding him with their guns at once. Since his back was to me, I couldn't see his expression.

"Drop it!" A gruff voice barked from the enclosing circle on Nathan.

I watched as Nathan reluctantly dropped his gun, kicking it away from him and holding up his hands.

I looked around nervously, trying to think of a way to stop this.

They couldn't shoot Nathan... Who else was going to drive us back?

Without thinking, I crept up to the passenger seat, avoiding their eye sights. Slowly, I pulled the handle and opened the door, careful not to make any noise. My heart was pounding in my chest as I softly landed on the snow.

Like a ninja, I moved fast and silent away from the car and made my way towards the intimidating girl, who was currently standing about twenty feet from the men and watching the encounter with a relaxed posture, her back to me.

I was just two feet away from her when I caught Nathan's eye.

His eyes widened in shock before he quickly covered it and glanced away. He shot me a quick warning look before hanging his head down.

Hah! Like I was gonna go back after getting this far...

I knew this girl was highly important, seeing as she walked around with a squad of six full-grown men, so I had the perfect plan in place. Now the only hard part was if I could actually handle the gun.

I smirked once I was two inches away and swiftly grabbed her into a headlock, silently thanking my brother for having taught me that many times, and got out my gun. I pressed the barrel into her temple, forcing my hands to stop shaking.

She squeaked in surprise and then let out a scream, causing the six men to look our way.

Once they saw that I had their queen at gunpoint, they slowly started to move towards me.

"Stop!" I yelled, speaking for the first time. "Take one more step and I won't hesitate to shoot her."

Wow, all those action movies I'd watched with Landon really did help in this situation...

They froze then, staying in their place.

"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" The bad-ass chick yelled at me.

"Practicing my audition for Mission Impossible." I shrugged, causing her to growl and struggle against my hold.

"Uh uh uh." I tsked, pressing the gun into her head slightly harder, making sure my finger wasn't touching the trigger.

I could hold her at gunpoint, surprisingly, but I could never shoot someone. That was just plain ridiculous.

Luckily, she froze in her attempts to break free.

"Alright." I said. "Drop your guns and put your hands up." I ordered the six men.

They looked at each other unsure, greatly offending my authoritative power I had going.

"Motherfucking now!" I yelled, pressing the gun into my victim's temple harder. I was sure it would soon leave a mark...

They all suddenly dropped their guns and put their arms up, staring at me.

"Idiots." The girl in my grasp mumbled under her breath.

Nathan stood where he was, watching me in shock. Once I caught his eye, I gave him a cocky smirk, similar to the one he had given me before, along with a wink.

Now that I had all six men unarmed and away from Nathan, I let go of the chick, slowly backing away towards the car, the gun not breaking its aim at her head.

I backed up to where Nathan was, not turning around once and made sure the men didn't make a move to grab their guns again.

I felt a hand grab my waist and pull me into a chest.

I leaned back into Nathan's chest, slightly relaxing into his hold and breathing in that Abercrombie cologne which instantly calmed me down.

I noticed he also had a gun aimed at the chick now.

"Alright, I'm gonna open the door, and you get in first. I'll get in next and you need to cover me while my back is turned okay?" He whispered into my ear, his arm around my waist tightening.

I nodded. He reached behind his back now and pulled open the door smoothly.

Before getting in, my gaze locked with the leather-clad pissed off chick, who gave me a burning glare in response. If her gaze hadn't been so terrifying, I would have blown her a kiss.

I climbed in quickly and slid up to the passenger seat, rolling down the window and pulling myself up to sit on the open window, placing my arm on the roof of the car with the gun pointed right at the girl.

The adrenaline rush combined with the Mission Impossible soundtrack playing in my head really brought out this bad-assery I never knew I had.

I watched and guarded Nathan as he slowly climbed in next, then lowered myself back into the car.

"Step on it!" I yelled as I craned my neck to see that they had all made a run to their guns.

Nathan wasted no time and floored it, the car whizzing through the soft snow.

"Wait!" I yelled, causing him to slow down the slightest bit and turn to me. "We forgot Dustin and Max." I reminded him.

He quickly groaned, before turning the car around and going a different route to the tree area, avoiding where my near death experience had just taken place.

"What if they're waiting for us there?" I asked in panic now.

"They wouldn't appear in a public place. Too many witnesses." He reassured me.

We pulled up into the parking lot and found a parking space near the front where the booth was.

Max and Dustin were probably still picking a tree, considering how long the line up had been before we left.

Nathan turned the engine off and silence filled the car. The only sound was my shallow breathing.

Did I really just do all that?

"Hey." Nathan said, causing me to turn towards him. "Come here." He said, grabbing my waist and pulling me onto his lap before I could protest.

"Are you alright?" He asked, his eyes filled with concern.

Once my breathing had finally returned to normal, I nodded.

"You did good." He smiled at me, placing his hands on my thighs, the action heating up my legs and cheeks slightly.

"I'm not exactly proud of holding someone at gunpoint." I looked down at his hands on me.

"It was self defense princess." He said softly, his lips brushing my neck as he spoke.

I couldn't help but shudder.

Before I could form a sentence, a loud tap on the window startled us.

I turned to find a disappointed Max shaking his head at us, next to Dustin who's eyes were shielded by Max's hand.

I chuckled and started to get up from Nathan's lap, but he pulled me back into him suddenly.

"I'd rather you stay here for the rest of the ride." His lips brushed my neck.

"And get us a ticket?" I asked, rolling my eyes.

"It would be worth it." Nathan shrugged, his hands moving up and down my thighs now.

My breathing hitched.

He went from being a jerk, to being a sexy bad-ass, to being an intense flirt.

I didn't understand.

Max tapped the window again, only this time harder and I gave him a look, pulling Nathan's hands off me.

Nathan groaned and finally let me climb to the passenger seat, before unlocking the car.

"We leave you for one hour and come back to see you five seconds away from impregnating her." Max scoffed, picking up Dustin and buckling him into his car seat.

Oh, if only he knew that I had just handled a gun and pissed off a dangerous chick with guns and bodyguards...

"Did you guys pick a tree?" Nathan asked, choosing to ignore Max.

"Yeah, it's at the back." He explained.

Nathan nodded.

"I could use some help." He added, rolling his eyes.

Nathan just grunted before opening the door and walking to the back of the car.

"What were you both doing?" Dustin asked from behind me.

I turned to look at him. "What?" I asked.

"Max made me cover my eyes, he said you two were doing something bad." Dustin explained.

I laughed nervously. "Oh, I was hurting him." I lied.

His eyes widened. "Is he okay?" He asked, concern in his eyes.

"Oh no, don't worry, I didn't hurt him physically. I just hurt his ego." I covered up.

Before he could further question me, the two brothers came back inside and Nathan started the car.

"How's your ego?" Dustin asked Nathan, causing me to burst out laughing.

Nathan shot me a glare, before turning to face his younger brother. "It's really hurting." He said with an adorably sad expression, causing me to stare at him curiously.

"But you know what would make it better?" Nathan asked, glancing at me with a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What?" Dustin asked instantly, so much concern shining in his innocent little eyes.

"If Skylar just told me that I'm the most amazing person she's ever met." He answered, not dropping his sad expression.

I scoffed as Dustin turned to me with wide eyes. "LS." He started, causing my heart to melt at the nickname. "Will you please say that?" He asked politely.

"What? No! He's lying!" I huffed.

"He's hurting." Dustin said with a puppy dog face. "Please?" He pleaded me.

I tried to resist it, I really did, but I ended up giving in. "Fine." I muttered.

"Nathan is the most amazing person I have ever met." I muttered, glaring out the window.

I saw Nathan shoot me a wide grin out of the corner of my eye.

Oh he was so going to regret that... So for the rest of the ride, I was silently plotting my next move, which was going to be brilliant.

_____________________________________________________________________

A/N

YOU'RE WELCOME (:

Be my friend on twatter - runwiththedingo

The comment of the dare goes to..... @KEENAWEDRICAMES who said:

Oh gosh so I was waiting at this really long stoplight at an expressway next to this guy maybe in his mid-twenties? And I'm in my teens. Anyway, he was like tapping his foot and humming something and I forgot to bring my music so it was really awk, and suddenly I remembered your dare. I was like "Hey, can I kidnap you?" And I give him this stupid duck face..And then I saw he was actually reeeeally good-looking, and I was like SH** HE'S GONNA BE SO CONFUSED and he full-on grinned at me and said "Sure, princess!" And I was so shocked I was just like "Oh....cool." And then he was like, "Why? Is your sex life getting dull?" And I'm Indian, but I could FEEL myself blushing. So I was just kinda like "Mm-hmm, yeah, you know how it is." And then the Walk sign came on, and even though he said yes, the second he started to walk, I turned and ran in the other direction, and I heard him laughing and he was like "Wait, princess!" and I was like OH GOD GET ME AWAY FROM THIS. Hahahaha, thanks, Ghostface. :D That was def one of my top ten most embarrassing moments!

That really made me laugh and was the most interesting, but hope you had some pepper spray on ya girl.. O_O

Alright now, the next update won't be delayed this long hopefully.

Vote, comment, and the next dare is, get ready, it's pretty extreme, go up to anyone and give them a hug, when they ask what you're doing be like "sorry I thought you were my dog."

Made that one up on the spot ok don't judge..

BYE!

~Ghostface